Alabama basketball walk-on guard Kai Spears is suing the New York Times for a story that said he was in Brandon Miller’s car during the fatal shooting on the Tuscaloosa Strip on Jan. 15, according to a lawsuit obtained by The Tuscaloosa News.
Spears is seeking $75,000, not counting interest and court costs.
Spears’ attorneys, Matt Glover and Stephen P. New, are making the argument on the basis of defamation/libel and false light invasion of privacy. The lawsuit was filed in district court in the northern district of Alabama.
“We plan to defend against the suit vigorously,” a New York Times spokesperson told The Tuscaloosa News.
Billy Witz wrote the story at the center of the lawsuit, published on March 15. Witz wrote that Spears was in the car with Miller, who was the driver.
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“In another car that was struck were Brandon Miller, a star player for the Crimson Tide, and Kai Spears, a freshman walk-on whose presence at the scene had not been previously reported. Including Spears, at least four Alabama players have now been placed at the scene of the shooting that took place in the early morning hours of Jan. 15, as bars emptied out along The Strip, a popular gathering spot for students near campus along University Boulevard in Tuscaloosa,” part of Witz’s article read.
A police investigator testified during a preliminary bond hearing in February for former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and Michael Davis that Miller had been at the scene of a fatal shooting on the Tuscaloosa Strip on Jan. 15 and the gun was brought to the scene in his car.
Miller has not been charged with a crime. Miles, 21, and Davis, now 21, who is not affiliated with the basketball program or university, are facing capital murder charges in the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris.
According to the lawsuit, at 12:30 a.m., Spears and two of his friends met up with Miller outside of the Houndstooth on the Strip then went to go eat at Moe’s Original BBQ. During that time, the lawsuit states teammate Jaden Bradley called via FaceTime, then he and Miller asked Spears and his friends to go out. But Spears and his friends declined.
Spears and his friends left at 1:40 a.m., according to the lawsuit.
The shooting happened on Grace Street at about 1:45 a.m.
Investigators believe the gun that killed Harris belonged to Miles but believe Davis pulled the trigger, per court documents. A grand jury indicted Miles and Davis on capital murder charges in March.
Spears called via Facetime to Miller and Bradley to see where they ended up going at 1:48 a.m., per the lawsuit. Then Spears learned shots were fired into Miller’s windshield.
Alabama issued a statement to the New York Times that its story was inaccurate on March 15. Spears also released a public statement saying the same the next day. So, too, did his father, Christian Spears, the athletic director at Marshall. Christian Spears called it “demonstrably false reporting by the NY Times” in his statement on March 16.
The lawsuit states it made a written demand to the New York Times through counsel for a retraction. The New York Times has not retracted the story.
The lawsuit argues defamation/libel on the basis that the New York Times “failed to use reasonable care in publishing and disseminating the untrue statements regarding Plaintiff Spears’ presence at a crime scene,” among other reasons.
The lawsuit states in addition to compensatory damages, Spears is seeking punitive damages and attorney’s fees and costs incurred during the course of the litigation.
Spears’ attorneys argue he suffered severe emotional distress, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life as a result of the article.
